


Ripples Carrying On

by Veluren



Series: Ripples Into Waves [5]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: All ending spoilers, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Asriel is alive AU, Gen, Gender-Neutral Frisk, Heavy headcanon, Post-Pacifist Route, Pretty much any tag that's on the other parts of the series, Side stories and other stuff, So is Gaster
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-11
Updated: 2016-02-02
Packaged: 2018-05-06 05:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5403977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veluren/pseuds/Veluren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of one-shots, backstory and mini-arcs taking place in my Ripples Into Waves AU.</p><p>All stories occur after In Ebott's Shadow unless otherwise stated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bark Bark

**Author's Note:**

> So, I did say I wasn't done writing, but I decided to try something a bit different.
> 
> This work is basically going to be a place I dump one-shots, slice of life, side stories, and just fun ideas I thought of that don't have any place in the actual storylines, prompts are accepted but no promises are made I'll follow through with them.
> 
> There may be some backstory and headcanon heavy chapters that will expand on the AU that will be nice to know, but not mandatory for the others stories that will come after them, I'll make certain of that.
> 
> General list of stuff to know if you're finding this AU for the first time through this story:
> 
> It possesses an OC.  
> Asriel and Gaster are both alive through methods explained through the other stories.  
> Everyone knows about screwy time shenanigans.
> 
> This one will be updated relatively infrequently and even besides the other major story arcs once I start writing those again, so, enjoy.

Newest Home, ever the peaceful and quiet little shire, perfect for human and monster alike to enjoy a relatively quiet life in a town where everyone knows each others, yes, perfect and quiet.  
  
Ralochs was walking down the street reading a book and not watching where he was going when he suddenly felt a weight on the back of his head, “Ah!” He yelled as he looked up to see a small white dog has just used his head as a springboard, “Dog?” He said quietly, then his face lit up in horror and he quickly slammed himself against the wall.  
  
“COME BACK HERE!” A loud voice screamed, getting a few glances from passerby, Papyrus was still chasing the dog and passed by the scholar at such speed the monster would have been run over had he not ducked against the wall, “YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY THIS TIME! GIVE ME BACK MY SPECIAL ATTACK!” Papyrus screamed as he continued chasing the agile creature, eventually hitting an alleyway.  
  
Ral stared dead forward before going back to his book and walking the opposite way, “Nope, not getting involved in this one.”  
  
“AH-HAH, GOTCHA!” The skeleton said with a smirk that could be described as the closest thing to sinister he could make as he lunged for the dog, only for it to jump backwards and phase through the wall, leaving a sticky white coating of residue against it, “DARN IT, HOW DOES HE DO THAT?” Papyrus said as he banged on the wall and walked out of the alleyway with his head held down in shame.  
  
“Oh, hello Papyrus, are you okay?” A soft voice called out, Papyrus looked up to see that it was Toriel, apparently on a grocery run, “You seem flustered.” She added, taking note of the skeleton's expression.  
  
“OH, HELLO TORIEL, I WAS JUST CHASING THAT CONNIVING CANINE AGAIN, BUT HE SLIPPED OUT OF MY GRASP!” Papyrus responded as he looked at the empty alley, “SERIOUSLY, WHAT KIND OF MONSTER IS THAT DOG?” He asked aloud.  
  
“You and that dog make more ruckus than the entire rest of the city.” She said with an amused sigh, “But I can see that he has been evading you... doggedly.” She let the pun hang in the air long enough for Papyrus to scream in frustration before continuing, “He has been evading you for over two years, so I will help you put an end to it.” She said with a smile.  
  
“OHMYGOSH REALLY?!” He said as he looked up, “AW, THANK YOU TORIEL, I CAN'T DESCRIBE HOW HAPPY I AM, WITH OUR POWERS COMBINED WE ARE SURE TO CAPTURE THAT MUTT! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!” He put his foot on the nearby fire hydrant and pointed at nothing in particular.  
  
“But first, I must deposit these groceries at home, shall we meet up later?” She asked, raising her arms to show the groceries hanging from them, “I do not wish for them to spoil.”  
  
“OH, SURE! I'LL GO AND PREPARE FOR THIS BATTLE OF WITS, I KNOW JUST THE PUZZLES TO CAPTURE HIM.” Papyrus jumped off the fire hydrant and began to run in the direction of his house full sprint.  
  
Toriel gave a deep sigh, “Something tells me that I may have just gotten myself into more trouble than I was bargaining for.” She shook her head with a warm smile as she headed back to her house to put up the food and then went to meet with Papyrus.  
  
“NYEH HEH HEH!” Papyrus laughed triumphantly over the puzzle laid out in the road ahead, “THIS TIME IT'S SURE TO WORK!” The puzzle was a familiar one to those who knew of Frisk's adventure, an entirely randomized puzzle with a very long and confusing set of rules for crossing it, “I DARE YOU TO MAKE IT THROUGH THIS PUZZLE, DOG!” He screamed out a challenge for his nemesis.  
  
Toriel walked up, “Oh dear, this seems a little excessive, are you certain that this is the only way to capture him?” She looked over the puzzle concerned, she didn't entirely remember what all Frisk told her the puzzle did, but she remembered it was harmless, but unpleasant, “Have you not tried to just ask politely?” She added.  
  
Papyrus blinked twice, “ERR... NO?” He responded, “LOOK, THERE HE IS! COME ON, I BET YOU'RE NOT DOG ENOUGH TO TRY TO SOLVE MY CHALLENGE! NYEHEHEHEHEHEH!” He started laughing loudly as the dog-like monster skipped over the panels to a safe one in the center, then looked at Papyrus with a purpose and sat down and then after a few seconds, fell asleep.  
  
There was a poignant silence hanging in the air, “Erm, what next?” Toriel said as she watched the dog napping in the middle of the trap, Papyrus looked genuinely angry.  
  
“HEY, THAT'S NOT HOW THIS PUZZLE WORKS, YOU NEED TO SOLVE IT, COME HERE!” He stepped onto the puzzle to go get the dog but wound up slipping on the slippery panel and falling into the water, a few seconds later he jumped out with piranha clinging to his bones, “OWIE, LEGGO YOU!” He screamed as he shook the fish off, then immediately stepped onto a panel that electrocuted him, “AHAHAHA!” He let out a noise that was somewhere between an incredulous laugh and a scream of pain, “TORIEL, PLEASE HIT THE RED BUTTON!” He screamed as he slipped into another puddle.  
  
“Oh my!” She said as she watched the trainwreck, when he called for her help she immediately ran over to the control console and turned the puzzle off. Papyrus faceplanted as the electricity stopped and just layed there smoldering, “Are you okay?” Toriel called, concern clear on her face. Before she could go check on Papyrus, she noticed the dog had walked over and was staring at her, “Oh, hello there.” She knelt down, “Papyrus would so love if you would give him his special attack back, would you please consider giving it back if I ask nicely?” The dog stared at her for a second before vibrating rapidly and swelling up like a balloon. Toriel raised an eyebrow as the dog opened its mouth and shot a pie at her, beaning her in the face with it and then running off.  
  
“ARE YOU ALRIGHT, TORIEL?” Papyrus said as he got up and walked over to her.  
  
Toriel, for her part, was taking being used for one of the world's oldest gags rather well as she pulled the pie tin off of her face and wiped herself off. She gave a sweet smile and a whimsical sigh before her expression contorted into a glare that made Papyrus scream like a girl, “That dog is going down.” She said coldly as she started walking in the direction it went.  
  
“So, anyway, that's how that happened.” Raloch said with a slight chuckle as he took a casual sip of his coffee, Undyne and Alphys were sitting across from him trying to not burst into laughter at the story he just told when there was suddenly a loud ruckus from outside. Looking out the window of the cafe, they saw the white dog being pursued full speed by both Papyrus and a rarely seen angry Toriel.  
  
“Oh damn! Toriel is pissed!” Undyne said as she watched them speed by the window, “Welp! Good story, I'm gonna go help those two, they look like they need it!” She said with a laugh as she proceeded to dive out the window, “Tell 'em I'll pay for that later!” She called.  
  
“U-Undyne, wait!” Alphys called as she watched her speed off, she looked to Ral, “Um... shouldn't we... help them?” Alphys said as she looked to the boss monster, who just took another casual sip of his coffee.  
  
“Do you really want to get roped up in that?” Ral deadpanned, “Of course, the way things go around here the entire city will probably be chasing that dog by the time the day's over.” He shook his head and started laughing, “Never a dull moment.”  
  
Undyne pulled up to the speeding monsters and kept pace with both of them, “Hey guys! Dog giving you trouble?” She asked with a laugh, “I didn't know you could run so fast, Toriel, you look like you're not even breaking a sweat.” She observed with a cheeky smile.  
  
“Yes, well, annoyance is a good motivator.” She responded as she continued following Papyrus and the dog.  
  
“AH-HAH, GOTCHA AGAIN!” Papyrus said as he cornered the dog in yet another alleyway, “OKAY, ON THREE WE JUMP HIM, ONE... TWO... THREE!” At that, all three of them lept towards the dog, only for it to suddenly shoot straight up and run across the air like it was ground and leaving the three in an embarassing pile.  
  
“Okay! Now I get why you've been hunting that thing for so long, MAN that dog is annoying!” Undyne said with a scowl as she watched it run through the air, “So, how do you think we can catch it?” She said as she picked herself up and looked to her companions.  
  
“OH, I KNOW, I CAN MAKE ANOTHER PUZZLE!” Papyrus responded as he started walking away, Undyne just in tow.  
  
Toriel shook her head, “I still do not know if this will work when the last one did not.” She sighed as she followed behind them to Papyrus' next puzzle.  
  
“BEHOLD THE AMAZING ELECTRICAL MAZE V.2.0!” Papyrus said as he motioned over the massive square area full of leaves that had fallen off the trees, beneath it lay a trap that would electrocute any passerby, “NOW ALL WE NEED TO DO IS WAIT FOR HIM TO COME BY AND BAM! HE'S OURS! NYEHEH HEH!”  
  
“This is awesome Papyrus! I forgot how good you were at making these puzzles.” Undyne said with a huge smile as she looked over the pile of fallen leaves, “Hey, couldn't he just go around it though?” She added with a raised eyebrow as she looked around, the perfect square with a trap wasn't exactly a one way path like the trap's counterpart in Snowdin.  
  
“PFFFT, I DON'T THINK SO, HIS EGO IS SO HUGE THERE IS NO WAY HE'LL IGNORE THIS! HE WANTS TO MAKE A FOOL OUT OF ME!” He responded, not quite catching any hint of irony in that statement.  
  
“Hmm, I remember Frisk telling me about the original version of this puzzle, but there is something I am forgetting.” Toriel said, tapping at her chin.  
  
Before she could respond, their prey appeared out of the woods, “AH-HAH! THERE YOU ARE, COME DOG, I CHALLENGE YOU TO CROSS THIS FIENDISH PUZZLE!” Papyrus responded. The dog took one step forward onto the maze... and Papyrus gave a loud yelp as he was electrocuted to a nice black char, “OWIE!” He shook his head off, “OH, RIGHT, THEY HAVE TO BE HOLDING THE ORB.” He said as he proceeded to walk into the maze and displace the leaves to show the path before tossing it at the dog, who just kind of absorbed the orb.  
  
“OH, WAIT!” Papyrus said as he began sweeping the leaves back over the path, showing a shockingly competent moment of learning from his mistakes, “OKAY, NOW YOU CAN GO!” The dog didn't even slow down before walking on a straight path through the maze completely unhampered, leaving Papyrus' jaw dropped and Undyne and Toriel staring with raised eyebrows.  
  
“looks like just like your prayers, the ball was absorbed by the darkness... or is that the dog-ness?” Sans said as he walked out from behind a nearby tree, catching Toriel off guard and making her go into a laughing fit, “you guys sure have been making a lot of racket, that bad?”  
  
“YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW BAD IT IS, BROTHER. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN AND WHY HAVEN'T YOU BEEN HELPING US?” Papyrus said, looking more than a little frustrated, “COME ON, HELP A SKELETON OUT.” He added.  
  
“okay okay, i'll devote the rest of today towards helping you guys out.” Sans said with a wink as he walked in the direction the dog went.  
  
Hours passed by in relative silence as Ral finished his daily business and walked in front of his house, he turned around only to notice a huge dust cloud moving through the city streets, “Hm, must be a freak wind storm.” He dismissed as he started fiddling with his keys, only for them to be knocked out of his hands by a small white object jumping on his arm and forcing itself into his chest, without thinking he put his arm closer to avoid letting the creature fall before looking down at it.  
  
“What is...?” He looked down as the high-pitched bark sounded off, a distinct expression of shock and horror came to his face as he looked up to see the dust cloud coming in his direction, once it rounded the street he saw it was made up of almost every individual resident of Newest Home. He looked down again, “You did this on purpose.” He said down to the small white dog, which just let out another shrill bark in response as the entire town barreled down on him and dove for the dog, eliciting a noise that was somewhere between a goatlike bleat and a scream of horror.  
  
“Well, that was an interesting day.” Toriel said as she put up the plates, “It is a shame the dog got away, but at least Papyrus finally got his special attack back.” She said happily.  
  
“Golly, all the fun stuff happens while we're at school.” Asriel said in clear disappointment as he helped his mother put up the dishes.  
  
“Well, at least one good thing came out of this.” Frisk said as they walked over with some medical wrapping in their arms, “It gave me a chance to try out the medical tips that I was given.”  
  
“Well, at least there's that, I'm sure Ral appreciates the attention.” Asgore said with a hearty laugh as he looked over to the Boss Monster who was head to toe in bandages.  
  
“I can't move my limbs.” Ral muffled through the cover of bandages, “We don't fracture bones anyway, this is really unneeded.” He added as Frisk kept wrapping him up more and more, “Help.” He muttered desperately as he kept getting bandaged.  
  
“Never a dull day.” Toriel said as everyone else burst into laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like the annoying dog is public enemy no.1 in the monster world just because of how awfully it inconveniences everyone.
> 
> This could have been longer and had more of a resolution, but I just want them to be tiny little quick stories, big stuff might come later though.


	2. Switched

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Consider this a bonus chapter for In Ebott's Shadow, I like having meaningless arc numbers of 11 though, so I'm gonna dump it here instead of updating the actual story.

“Okay boys, are we ready?” A voice called out from the laboratory attached the skeleton family's house, “If my calculations are correct, this should send the machine back and solidify the time loop!” said Gaster as he was looking over the machine, which they had spent the past few months repairing.

“ready, dad.” Sans said as he stepped around the other side, wiping some sweat off his skull, “i'll be honest with you, i'm going to be glad to see this thing go, handy as looking into the future is, i'm thinking it'll be more fun to just experience it.” He walked over and checked a few knobs.

“I agree.” Gaster said, “It's served its purpose, but it still has to help me in the past to make sure everything occurs as it should. Papyrus, are you good over there?” He said, looking over to the other side of the machine as Papyrus poked his head out.

“I... THINK SO?” He gave a shifty glance, “THIS SCIENCE STUFF IS WAY OUT OF MY LEAGUE, BUT I DID EVERYTHING YOU TOLD ME, SO I KNOW IT'LL WORK, YOU'RE NEVER WRONG!” He added.

“Okay!” Gaster yelled out, “Let us end the saga of the Underground once and for all!” At that he flipped the lever on the machine and it began to whirr and chine, “Let's see, heat is stable, the matrixes are aligning, I... wait, what's this?” He said, suddenly growing concerned.

“somethin' wrong, pop?” Sans called out as he looked at the machine, he looked at the massive glow coming from it and blinked twice, “oh boy.” He said as the house was engulfed in a radiant light that then proceeded to engulf the rest of the town.

The next morning came. Frisk was walking down the sidewalk debating what they wanted to spend their Saturday doing, they were supposed to meet up with Snowy but he called and changed plans suddenly with a dismissive call of “whatever” that sounded more suited to Jerry than him. Frisk took a sigh, “Maybe Alphys and Undyne are free to hang out.” They said aloud as they turned on their heel to go to the lover's house, only to be stopped by their phone ringing, it was a text from Asgore.

“Dear Frisk, please stay out of trouble, Asriel and I are going to be going to the store today, let us know if you want anything, or just come and meet up with us.” Frisk tilted their head a bit, it was a bit odd for Asgore to be the one to say that, it was more in character for Toriel. They shook their head as they dismissed it before walking up to Undyne and Alphys' house and knocking on the door, Undyne was the one to answer.

“Oh, hey Frisk, me and Alphys are just about to sit down for lunch, want to join us?” She sounded different, calm. Frisk cocked their head to the side in confusion as they watched her beckon them in.

Alphys walked out next, she was... wearing a shirt that looked very similar to what Undyne wears, she was also standing straight, making her look a head taller than normal, “Hey kiddo, how's it going?” She said both confidently and casually, Frisk blinked twice.

“Are... you two okay? You're acting different.” Frisk observed, even with Undyne chilling out and Alphys getting some confidence over the past few years, this was still disturbingly drastic.

The two of them looked at each other, “Different, howso?” Undyne responded, “I'm pretty sure this is the way we've always been.”

“Yeah Frisk, if anything you're the one acting different.” Alphys said as she popped open a can of soda, downed it in one go, then proceeded to crush the can against her head in an aggressive fashion, making Frisk's eyes almost bug out of their head.

“Erm, huh.” Frisk said, flabbergasted, “Actually, can I get a rain check on lunch? I just remembered I need to go do some things.” They said as they looked in the house.

“Hm? Oh, sure.” Undyne responded, “And hey, Alphys was wanting to talk to you later about training.” Alphys nodded in the background and waved to Frisk as she grabbed another soda, Frisk just nodded as they walked off.

“What just happened?” Frisk said to themselves as they heard their phone go off, it was Asriel this time.

“Frisk, something weird's going on, Dad's acting like Mom and Mom's acting like dad, it was subtle at first but it's gotten more obvious.” It read.

“Them too?” Frisk said out loud with a small frown on their face, “What in the world is...” They paused for a second, then raised an eyebrow, “Gaster.” They said as the lightbulb went off. They doubled back to head to the skeleton house, Gaster had some explaining to do.

Elsewhere in the city, another boss monster walked idly down the road, nose in a book as usual for him when he stumbled into someone, “Ack! Oh, not again, I'm so sorry!” Ral said as he bowed his head in an apology, then looked up, “Oh, hey there Papyrus.” He said as he took note of who he just bumped into, “Er... you are Papyrus, right?”

Papyrus had actually changed clothes, he was wearing jogging shorts and an orange hoodie sweater, “yo.” He said calmly, Ral blinked twice, then cocked his head to the side.

“You sick, Papyrus? You seem.. quieter, and you're not wearing your battle body.” The monster responded, taking note of the changes.

“PAPYRUS! WAIT UP!” A louder voice called out as Sans ran up, wearing blue armor that looked suspiciously like Papyrus' gear and a spring in his step that Ral had never seen in his years of knowing the skeleton.

“Did... you two make a bet or something?” Ral questioned as he looked between the two of them.

“no? not sure what would make you think that.” Papyrus said as he reached into his hoodie and pulled out a jar shaped like a bear, “want some honey?” He offered, Ral shook his head and Papyrus shrugged before downing it.

“BESIDES, ANY BET WE'D MAKE I WOULD BE SURE TO WIN, I'M QUITE THE SANS-SATION, AFTER ALL.” Sans added, causing the monster to physically cringe in response, at least that hadn't changed.

“Well... er...” He said as he reached up to scratch his goatee, “Oh look, there's Frisk and Asriel, pardon me.” He said before excusing himself and all but running to catch up to the children.

“Guys? Are you still you?” Frisk said as Ral and Asriel walked up, he was examining them carefully, checking their body language and movement.

“Yeah, are you guys?” Asriel said as he looked back and forth.

“Looks like the anomaly quartet is fine.” Ral said jokingly, he seemed to have figured out, or maybe just guessed, that they weren't being affected because they were all oddities where linear time was concerned.

“Pretty sure this has to do with Gaster.” Frisk said, “He's been working on that machine again, I bet he did something screwy.” They added.

“Wait, how do you know that, Frisk?” Asriel questioned, looking to his sibling, Frisk shrugged in response.

“You know I like to get places I shouldn't be.” They said bluntly, “I stumbled into it a few weeks ago and Gaster told me what he was doing.”

“Well, I guess it's time for him to tell the rest of us what he was doing, then.” Ral said as he did a gesture of crossing his arms, though it didn't quite look complete with just the one.

The three walked to the house where the skeleton family called home, it had been renovated in the past month to accommodate Gaster's return from the time paradox purgatory he had been stuck in for such a long time, a combination of bedroom and lab had been added to the house's side. The three let themselves in to see Gaster working on the massive machine in a frenzy, “Oh, uhm, hello you three.” He said, his hands in a storm as he fiddled with the machine, “I'm... guessing you've experienced the fallout?” He added, chuckling nervously.

“Yes, it was... unique.” Ral said, the kids just nodded.

“Soooo... what happened?” Frisk questioned, looking at the machine as it started working again. Gaster just gave a weak chuckle in response.

“I will explain in a bit, but first I need to put things back in order.” He said as he fiddled with some additional levers. A few minutes passed before the machine pulsed out with a massive wave of light, “There we go, I believe that has fixed things.” He said as he looked around the room, soon enough, Frisk's phone went off.

“It's from Alphys and Undyne, they sound really confused about what just happened.” Frisk said as they read the message.

“Ah, so they do remember what just happened.” Gaster said with a sigh, “Text everyone and tell them to come over, I have some explaining to do.”

One by one everyone filed inside Gaster's lab. Undyne and Toriel didn't look very pleased, the rest of them mostly looked confused. They all stared at Gaster and his machine in silence, causing the limber skeleton to sweat a bit. Eventually, Toriel broke the silence, “Well, Gaster?”

Gaster gave a nervous, hollow chuckle, “Well... where do I start?” His hands moved as he spoke, a tic everyone eventually noticed he had. By his own words when they questioned him about it, he hated his hands not doing something, so if he wasn't actively working he was usually putting his hands to use by signing his words even though nobody present was deaf or mute.

“Wherever is easiest.” Ral responded.

“Okay.” Gaster said with a sigh, “Well, you are all very aware at this point that this is a time machine that only functions in one fashion: viewing timelines. Well, it is supposed to work that way, but therein comes the big issue, I need it to function as a true time machine for one singular purpose, to send it back to myself in the past.”

“Wh-wh-what?!” Alphys said, walking up to the machine, “Y-you mean you had this machine in the past because you sent it back to yourself?” Gaster nodded, “A-amazing, so that's where it came from.”

“And.” Frisk cut in, “Let me guess, something went wrong and that's what caused everyone to go so weird?” Gaster nodded again.

“WE WERE HELPING HIM MAKE IT WORK.” Papyrus said, “BUT UH... SOMETHING WENT WRONG.” He had a pretty good idea it was his fault, Sans was too smart and Gaster knew how it worked.

“yeah, that was my bad.” Sans cut in. Papyrus quickly looked to Sans with a slightly shocked expression only to be met with a wink, which Papyrus knew very well what it meant. He gave his brother a smile before going back to the matter at hand.

“Either way.” Gaster continued, “It accidentally spliced in moments from another potential timeline, much like the one you encountered in Mt. Ebott when you rescued me, the one where your shades were violent.”

“Weird.” Asriel said, “That timeline was... everyone was everyone else?” He added, tilting his head in confusion.

“Well that explains a lot!” Undyne said with a huge smile, “Alphys has never had a go at me that fiercely before!” Frisk and Asriel both started sputtering at that as Toriel knelt down to cover the kid's ears. Alphys looked like she was about to spontaneously combust at the comment.

“Perhaps, now that the machine is stable I think I can take a better look, would you all like to join me in viewing?” Gaster said, willfully ignoring Undyne's comment.

Everyone shared an uneasy glance at Gaster's proposal before Undyne rubbed her head, “You're sure it's under control this time?” Gaster nodded, “Heh! Sure! I want to see more of what Alphys was like if she was more like me.”

“Well... I suppose it wouldn't hurt to see.” Asgore said, speaking up for the first time, “As long as there's no actual danger, it could be fun to see.” He added.

“I AGREE, SANS WAS ACTING LIKE A COMPLETE FOOL, I WANT TO SEE MORE OF IT.” Papyrus cut in, not sensing the inherent irony of the situation at all.

“Well then, here we go.” Gaster said as he turned on the machine, the mass in the center glowing and expanding, eventually showing a portal, “Let us see, I believe a good starting point would be Sans and Papyrus.” Gaster said as he turned some knobs, the image going to Snowdin.

Papyrus blinked as he looked at his reflection, “WOWIE, WHO'S THAT NERD?” He said as he watched the figure walk down the snowy pathway, puffing on a cigarette and drinking honey casually, “HE SEEMS LIKE HE'S TRYING REALLY HARD TO BE “COOL”, I'M NOT SURE HOW I FEEL ABOUT THAT BEING ME.” He added as he watched the shadow meet up with Sans, who was carrying himself like he was larger than life.

“man, i can't even begin to imagine trying so hard, makes me want to go to bed just thinking about it.” He said as he watched his twin run circles around the other Papyrus, the two eventually coming upon the human, who was looking around frightened and scared, “hey, there's frisk.”

Frisk tilted their head and squinted their eyes, “That's... not me.” They said, everyone else looked in better, a slight gasp coming from the royal family as Frisk realized, “Chara?!”

“I guess some of us traded places too.” Asriel said, a small frown on his face, “Frisk must have been the first child to fall, and Chara would have been the eighth.”

“I'd advise you to not think much on it.” Ral said as he reached into his phone's box, “Here, have some coffee.”

“I hope that is decaff, Ralochs, do you remember what happened the last time you gave Asriel coffee?” Toriel questioned, looking to the other boss monster.

“Yeah, I'm still paying the fire department back.” Ral said with a sigh, “But yes, it is decaff.” He said as he handed the cup to Asriel, who started casually sipping on it as the vision continued.

“it's weird how little changes despite so much changing, ain't it?” Sans said, “wait, does that make sense?” He questioned as he watched Chara solve the other Sans' puzzles, being advised by Papyrus, and ultimately coming to a head with Sans and Chara dueling at the border of Snowdin and Waterfall. To his shock, Sans actually held back to give the kid a fair chance with slow deliberate attacks that ramped up incrementally, instead of dumping the whole of his spirit into it. The battle came to a close and the vision changed to show their adventure through Waterfall.

Eventually they were stopped by a figure dressed in armor who was much stouter than Undyne, and instead of spears, the child ended up outrunning battleaxes, “So, if everyone's switched, that means Alphys is the one throwing axes?” Undyne said as she watched the armored figure grab Jerry of all things, him being the one who apparently traded places with the monster kid.

“This is so weird to watch, things are just off enough that it doesn't sit well in my head.” Frisk said as they watched the human fall into the dump, eventually being saved from a very well-tempered dummy by a ghost with familiar hair, “Wait, Mettaton?”

Alphys blinked twice, “Oh wow, I guess I never made Mettaton a body in that timeline.” Alphys said, only to go stiff, “Er, I-I mean...”

“WAIT, YOU MEAN THAT SEXY RECTANGLE ISN'T WHAT HE NORMALLY LOOKS LIKE?” Papyrus intercepted as he watched Chara go and hang out with the ghost.

“Well, er... no.” Alphys said, “Mettaton's a ghost, Hapstablook, h-he's Napstablook's cousin.” She said, frowning like she had just sold him out, especially when everyone else reacted with a loud cry of “what?!” in response.

“I thought it was obvious.” Frisk said, “But... then again, I had a lot of time to figure stuff out about their family.”

“Out of uh...” Asriel stuttered, getting quiet, “Out of curiosity, what's Flowey like?” Frisk looked to their brother at that question, so did their parents. Gaster didn't seem to catch that it might not be something they want to see, but went ahead and did it anyway.

What they got was... not what they expected. Flowey was sitting in the Tem shop with a facial expression Frisk knew very well belonged to Temmie, “...what?” They said, watching the machine “Gaster... what is Temmie like, then?” Frisk questioned.

Gaster turned some more knobs and the vision went to Temmie, who had its face turned away from the vision, a few seconds passed before Temmie suddenly and abruptly turned around like it was deliberately doing a jumpscare, making a humanoid face with a demented, toothy grin. The sight caused Asriel to spew the coffee he was drinking all over the floor in front of him and jump full force into Asgore's arms, clearly terrified.

“Nope.” Frisk said, more than little disturbed, “Next, please?” They briskly asked. Gaster responded with a nod as he turned some more knobs.

The vision distorted again, showing Chara standing off against the armored figure as it tossed its helmet away to reveal Alphys standing proud, though not very tall. Everyone watched with a degree of interest as they saw her swing her axes towards the child, who blocked it with the shield she provided. Undyne looked especially into it, jumping and cheering and swinging her fists in the same motion as the axe, “Holy crap! This is awesome!” She didn't seem to notice Alphys wasn't watching the vision anymore at that point, and looked decidedly dejected.

The vision continued forward into Hotland, Undyne was the one to greet Chara at the door to the lab, she looked calm, collected, and comfortable in a lab coat, the party watched as their conversation was interrupted by a robot that looked suspiciously like Mettaton, except instead of a large amount of facelights and dials, there was a DJ table on its chest, and it seemed to be putting the human through musical tests instead of random shenanigans.

“Oh wow.” Frisk said, “Is that 'blook?”

“I was always pretty fond of Napsta, they were always such a friendly neighbor, I bet if I took Alphys' place I was the one who made a body for them instead of Mettaton.” Undyne said as she pieced things together.

The vision distorted to show him in his EX form, that human-like body with short hair covered by a reversed cap, an overall DJ theme to the body instead of Mettaton EX's more glam-rocker appearance. Alphys was watching the vision again, there seemed to be some kind of gleam in her eye as she observed.

“Gaster, I am curious.” Toriel said, “What of me and Asgore?” Asgore looked over to her with a small frown as Gaster nodded, his expression turning to a frown a bit as he realized this might not be something they would like seeing. Nonetheless, he turned the dial to show Asgore sitting in the ruins, wearing a comfortable purple robe and drinking some tea as Chara walked into the room and struck up a conversation. They watched as Asgore tried to change a topic before standing and leaving the room, Toriel and Frisk knew well what came next, even though the people involved were changed.

Asgore didn't seem pleased, “Then... Tori is...” The machine changed scenes to show Chara at the end of their adventure, standing in front of Toriel who was cloaked in black, a sad, broken smile on her face as she cast the cape aside to reveal a longsword, Gaster quickly ended the machine before the fight could actually break out.

“I see.” Toriel said, frowning, “Could it really have that easily been me?” She didn't seem pleased, Asgore stepped up behind her and wrapped her in an understanding hug, she smiled softly as she reached up to feel his hands around her.

“I think we've seen enough, I'm noticing a few downturned expressions.” Ral said, “I'm guessing since we didn't see me at any point, that's one of the timelines where I never came to be.” He said with a shrug, as if he had accepted his role in the law of causality, the fact that in some timelines that could have been, he never came into existence. “Well.” He added after a second, “I need to attend to some business, you all have a pleasant one.” He said with a wave, everyone else waved or nodded as he left.

“That is where the timeline ends.” Gaster said, “Interesting but... I would say not to let the negative parts impact you too much, it was only the possibilities, after all. Possibilities that didn't come to be, I should add.”

Everyone nodded and talked a bit longer before heading their separate ways to their homes, they had been watching the vision for most of the rest of the day, it had grown late.

Undyne and Alphys walked down the road back to their house when Undyne noticed Alphys looking downcast, “Hey, something wrong?” She said, a bit concerned.

Alphys just fidgeted, “I'm... sorry, Undyne, that I couldn't be... that.” She frowned, it was clear she was reflecting on what she saw of her other self, “Strong, confident, has an axe the size of a human child and knows how to use it... it's pretty... not me.” She sighed.

“Hey now! None of that.” Undyne chastised, “I don't give a damn, Alphys, sure that phantom was cool and all, but you're the one I live with, you're the one I love, and you're the one I'm gonna be marrying soon!” She said with a wide, toothy smile, “Besides, between the two of of us, one of us has to be the smart one, and God knows I'd be bored to death if the actual me tried to get into your stuff!” She laughed.

Alphys just blinked twice before smiling, “Y-you really mean that?” Undyne nodded, “Aw... thanks. I guess I was being hard on myself again, huh?” She shook her head, “You're right though, I should just focus on what I'm good with! And right now, I've got a great idea for a project to work on.”

“Oh? What's that?” Undyne said, curious.

“W-well, that other timeline might not be ours, but there's no reason we can't borrow from it, I guess that's why Gaster was so reliant on that machine. Anyway, I think next time Mettaton and his band is in town, I might have a gift for Napstablook.”

Undyne looked at her for a second, then smiled when she realized what she was inferring, “Oh man! They're going to LOVE IT, Alphys!”

Elsewhere, as the royal family walked back home.

“To be honest, if their speech patterns didn't switch, I probably wouldn't have noticed, Mom and Dad are a lot alike when it comes to their personalities.” He said it in a completely benign tone of voice, but got a harsh elbow from Frisk that made him bleat, they looked back to notice that Toriel didn't look very happy.

“Tori... I know what you saw, but that wasn't how things happened.” Asgore said, trying to cheer her up, “I was the one who shouldered that burden because of that foolish choice, not you.” He said.

“I know.” Toriel said lowly, “But still, the fact that it could have been me so easily... and after I have held it against you for so long...”

“You were right to.” Asgore responded, “I was a coward to not turn away, but still do things the way I did.” He frowned, shaking his head.

“Gorey.” Toriel said, “I know I said I forgave you when we re-married, but... I just wish to say that again, I still do not agree, and maybe I am still a little angry when I reflect on it, but I stand by that, I forgive you.” She said as she nuzzled up to her husband. Asgore just gave a bittersweet smile.

Meanwhile, back at skeleton house.

“Alright boys! Ready?” Gaster's voice called out from the house as he looked to his children, “Let's flip the switch and end the saga of the Underground once and for all! For real this time!”

“THAT WAS STILL CRAZY, I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT A LOSER I WAS.” Papyrus chimed in as he pulled himself out of the machine, “SERIOUSLY, HONEY?” He added.

“hey, i think even if you were just as lazy as me, you're still way cool, bro.” Sans added as he walked around the other side, “but did you see me? man, i looked ridiculous.” He said, chuckling, “what a bonehead.”

“Right.” Gaster said, letting the irony hang for a second before flipping the switch, “Come on... work this time!” He pleaded. The machine began to glow, brighter and brighter as waves of energy radiated out of it, eventually it encircled the entire machine... and then vanished into thin air.

“...WELL?” Papyrus questioned, “DID IT WORK, DID WE SEND IT BACK?”

“looks it, we're still here so i'm guessing the loop stabilized.” Sans said as he walked to the empty space, “good riddance, i say.”

“Agreed, time to live out our future not knowing what comes next, but right now, what I see in our future is spaghetti.” Gaster said with a wink, causing Papyrus to smile.

“I AGREE, TIME FOR DINNER, NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This. Chapter. Gave me so much trouble.
> 
> A strong start is everything, but I just couldn't find a beginning that satisfied me, I languished on this for nearly a month before figuring out how to start it, and when I finally did I finished it within a day.
> 
> So, I'm kind of in love with Underswapped, I find it adorable and hilarious, I actually would have switched it out with the Underfell reference I did in In Ebott's Shadow except... well, by the time I learned about Underswapped being a thing, I had already more or less finished the story. Thankfully Gaster's here and the machine is working again, so I left a loophole to do it anyway.
> 
> The next major story will be starting soon-ish, I have chapter 1 complete but want to build a backlog of at least one chapter ahead of what I post.


	3. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a super short little drabble taking place between chapters 4 and 5 of Putting the Past to Rest. Frisk has some nightmares, everyone is supportive and really sweet about it.

Frisk tossed and turned in their sleep as their dream turned into a nightmare of something they thought had long since been put behind them.

“Reject. Useless.” Words echoed back and forth in Frisk's mind as they sat surrounded by shadows, “Nobody wants you. Mistake.” Frisk grasped their head, trying their best to not cry. Tears were what they wanted, it was what they always wanted from them. An inky black hand reached out of the darkness and grabbed Frisk's arm, and Frisk could feel themselves falling backwards.

Frisk woke up with a loud scream and a crash as they fell out of their bed. Immediately Asriel jolted up, “Frisk! What's wrong?” He said as he bounded up and started running over towards their sibling.

Toriel barged in almost immediately, “What is wrong?!” She sounded worried as she looked over her children. Frisk was huddled up in a ball against the side of their bed, Asriel trying desperately to soothe their nerves.

“N-nightmare.” Frisk said, trying and failing to stay composed.

“Oh dear, do you wish to talk about it?” Toriel responded, only to receive two shakes of the head in response. She frowned, “Please Frisk, if it is something you need to say, do not hesitate, you know that we are here for you.” She said, motioning to Asriel, “Perhaps some pie and milk will sooth your nerves, I will go get started.” She said with her bright, motherly smile. Before she left, she shot Asriel a knowing glance, and he nodded in response.

“Frisk, what were you dreaming about? That other timeline?” Asriel questioned, worry clear in his voice. Frisk didn't respond vocally, just shook their head again, “Frisk, mom's right, dad might be out of town, but we're still here for you.” He said.

“I...” Frisk frowned, “I'm not sure... if this is something I should tell you.” They added as they stood, going to walk out onto the balcony that Asgore made sure their house was built with. The cool spring air buffered on their face as they laid down on the slanted roof, “Asriel...” They said. Asriel responded with a curious 'hm' and a tilt of his head.

“Way back the first time I finished my journey, you asked me why I climbed Mt. Ebott despite its reputation, but you never let me answer because you said only I know.” They said, “Truth is... I didn't want to tell, I still don't...” Asriel frowned a little at that, “But... I can tell you that I didn't matter much to them. They didn't care about me, or what happened to me, I'm not even sure if they realized I had left.”

“Then... the nightmare you were having?” Asriel started to say. Frisk just nodded.

“I was thinking of back then and... what happens if they come back for me? It's their right to take me back, right?” They sounded scared, “I'm happy with you all, this is the life I want... what if they try to take that from me?”

“Frisk...” Asriel said before he abruptly launched himself at his sibling, “Come on Frisk, don't even think things like that! You know none of us would let you go back to that, even if they come back, we won't let them take you.” He said as he hugged them harder.

“Squeezing...too... strong.” Frisk wheezed. Asriel let him go and hung his head apologetically, “But... I appreciate that Asriel, but... I would probably go back. I don't want you guys to be hurt because of me and they... they'd be really likely to put a lot of effort into getting me back, enough effort to maybe even put you guys at risk.” They added.

“Frisk, come on, you know us better than that, we'd go through anything for you.” Asriel responded.

Frisk gave a small, sad smile, “Asriel... I... thank you.”

“Frisk, Asriel, the pie is ready if you would like some.” Toriel said lowly from the door. It wasn't clear if she had been eavesdropping or not, though the look on her face would suggest she heard at least some of it.

“Well... let's have some pie then.” Frisk said, putting on a somewhat forced smile. Asriel responded with an almost identical smile as they went inside to have some pie before going back to sleep.

The next morning, Frisk and Asriel were walking down the street, looking for stuff to keep them busy, “Any ideas what to do, Asriel?” Frisk asked, “I'm at kind of a loss.”

Asriel put a hand to his chin and gave a thoughtful hum, “Oh! I know, Frisk, can you do me a favor?”

“Favor?” Frisk asked, “What kind of favor?”

“Well, actually, I kind of want to run and do something, can you get some stuff while I'm doing that?” Asriel responded.

Frisk was never one to turn down a request unless it was actively harmful, so they accepted with a shrug, “Great! Here's the list, hope you don't mind, see ya later!” Asriel said before running full sprint, leaving Frisk standing there confused.

“What is this? Pomer-raisins? Scale cream? Why is this a shopping list, and why are these all things our friends would be interested in?” They shrugged as they started walking to find the items. “Let's see, what would be easiest?”

“Who's there? Who moved?” A gruff voice called out from the side. Frisk turned to the side, it was Doggo, “Who was that?”

“Hey Doggo.” Frisk said as they started to sway side to side, trying to stay in motion as much as possible so he could see them.

“Oh, Frisk, it's you. 'Sup?” He said, his eyes locked on Frisk's shifting form.

“Oh, doing some errands for Asriel... Hey, do you have any pomer-raisins on you?” Frisk asked.

“Mmm, no, but LD loves those stupid things, I'm more of a dog-treats guy myself.” The dog-like monster responded, “No idea where he is, but I know he's not here, I can see his tail wagging from a mile off.”

“Gotcha, see you around.” Frisk said as they turned to head off to try to find the excitable puppy.

“Yep, see ya.” Doggo said as he turned around and immediately smacked into a wall, “Who was that? Who's standing there?!”

Frisk hummed to themselves as they kept walking along looking for signs of Lesser Dog while reading the rest of Asriel's list. “Hmm, bones? What? Well, at least I know where to go.” They said as they turned off to the side to go to the skeleton house.

Inside the house was Gaster, sitting there tinkering on some hand-sized box contraption when he heard the knock at the door. He stood to answer it and saw the human standing there, “Oh! Hello Frisk, do come in.” He said as he stood aside and bowed as Frisk walked through the threshold.

“Thanks Gaster. So this is going to sound odd, but Asriel sent me out with a list of some sort and it's asking for bones.” Frisk said as they looked around the house. It was almost identical to their home in Snowdin, intentionally so, except with the addition of Gaster's room that had been added on when he was saved last year.

“Ah, well, if you need bones you are certainly in the right house. Unfortunately Papyrus isn't here right now, but you can borrow some from his room.” The tall skeleton responded.

“Oh, where is he then, where's Sans for that matter? I haven't see him in a few days either.” Frisk said, just now taking in the absence of one of his friends.

“I'm not sure what Papyrus is doing, he got a phone call and bolted out so fast I thought he was going to leave an impact silhouette in the door. And as for Sans, he said he was joining Asgore and Ralochs' trip and vanished into a shortcut.” Gaster said as his free hands signed everything he was saying.

Frisk raised an eyebrow, “Well, that explains where Sans went at least, I guess if I see Papyrus I'll talk to him for a bit. Are you sure it's okay if I just go in there and take some bones?” Gaster nodded in response.

Frisk shrugged and walked upstairs into Papyrus' room. Upon opening the bone box, a white blur shot out of it, causing Frisk to yelp and stumble back before it melted into the wall. “Man that dog has issues.” Frisk said as they looked at the residue covered wall and the box. All but one bone had been absorbed by the Annoying mutt. They felt bad taking Papyrus' last bone but knew he could easily magic up some more if he wanted to. They waved goodbye to Gaster before setting out on the rest of their tasks.

“Hummm, still no sign of LD. I bet Alphys probably has some scale cream laying around her and Undyne's house.” Frisk said as they turned on their heel to go to the lovers' house.

Upon arriving, they took note of Alphys quickly closing the curtains. Frisk raised an eyebrow before knocking on the door, Alphys answered shortly after, “O-oh hey, Frisk.” She seemed more nervous than normal for some reason, “U-uhm... what are you doing here?”

“Asriel gave me a list of stuff he wanted me to get, for some reason scale cream was on there.” Frisk said bluntly.

Alphys just nodded twice before closing the door and opening it a moment later, “kaythanksbye.” She said before closing the door.

“Huh, she seemed... a bit more out of it than usual, first Papyrus taking off now this? What's going on?” Frisk said, starting to notice something seemed a bit off with the situation. “Well, I'll have to ask later, I still need to find those pomer-raisins.”

They walked around looking for Lesser Dog for what felt like an hour to no avail. Frisk wasn't deterred though, that familiar determination holding them through to see this task to the end. Eventually they got an idea. They walked out on the center of the street and took in a loud breath, “Who wants to play fetch?!” They yelled. Within seconds a dust cloud could be seen rapidly heading in their direction. Sure enough, it was the dog Frisk was looking for.

“Hey LD.” Frisk said as the dog looked at them happily, panting and wagging his tail, “So, I'll play fetch with you, but there's a catch.” The dog stopped and stared at them, waiting for them to continue, “I need some pomer-raisins.” Before they could even continue they found a box abruptly shoved into their chest and Lesser Dog staring at them expectantly, “Okay, fair enough.”

Frisk stayed and played with the dog for an hour or so, playing fetch until his neck had extended so high up he could have been able to see the other side of Ebott. Frisk waved and looked at the note, “Turn to next page.” They said as they did just that, “Come home?” They looked up, “It is getting kind of late, huh?” They shrugged before heading back to their house.

The door was locked for some reason, which they found a bit off since Newest Home was one of the safest places in the world, and nobody, save Sans, really locked doors behind them. They fiddled with a key before opening the door and walking into their pitch black house.

Suddenly, the lights turned on and every jumped up, “Surprise!” The house had been decorated to look like a party, the banner above the room had “we appreciate you, Frisk!” written on it.

“What is?” Frisk started saying before Asriel ran up to him.

“Well... after last night I got to thinking, “if the worst really happens, how can we show Frisk we appreciate them enough to stay.” And mom suggested a party!” He said with a smile. Frisk looked to Toriel.

“Asriel told us what you told him last night. It is awful that your old family would put you through something like that, we just want you to know that we do not want you to ever live in fear that we would give you back to them, my child.”

“YES! THAT IS WHY I THOUGHT UP THE MOST DASTARDLY OF SCAVENGER HUNTS FOR ASRIEL TO GIVE YOU, SO THAT YOU WOULDN'T CATCH WIND OF THIS INGENIUS PLAN OF TORIEL'S.” Papyrus yelled out.

“You got me Papyrus, I had no clue.” Frisk said. It wasn't exactly a devious puzzle, being only three items, but it certainly kept them busy enough to not see it coming.

“And look here! Me and Alphys even made a cake!” Undyne said as she wheeled in a massive, multi-layer cake from the other side of the room. It was glittering like a star and decorated masterfully.

“W-wow.” Frisk said, “You two made that?”

“W-well, sort of.” Alphys said, “I could use science to make it delicious but I suck at presentation, so I called Mettaton and asked him for advice, he just told me “glitter” and hung up. Uh... Toriel helped us finish most of the decoration on the frosting. That's why I shut the door on you earlier. S-sorry about that.” Frisk just gave them a forgiving smile.

“And listen here, kid! Asriel also told us you're scared that if they come back for you, they may be aggressive. You know what I say to that?!” Undyne summoned a spear, “I say NGAAAAAAAH!” She roared as she cleaved the cake in half.

Sans walked out from around one of the split halves of the cake, causing Frisk to raise an eyebrow, “what, a guy can't instantly travel a few thousand miles to help a friend cheer up?” He said with a wink, “what this all comes down to, frisk, is that we appreciate you. you're a friend, you're our family.”

“And it doesn't matter what happened in the past because we're here for you now. And if your past does come back, we'll help you stand against it. We all love you Frisk, we're all here for you.” Asriel said.

Frisk just stared forward as tears began to well in their eyes, “Everyone...” They gave a big smile as the tears started flowing in earnest, “Thank you so much everyone!” They yelled, letting their appreciation for everyone known.

“well, i say that's enough of the sappy stuff, how's about we party so I can fill up on cake before asgore and ral notice i'm gone?” Sans said with a shrug.

“Yes, let us, as you all say, “party hearty?” Toriel chimed in, getting a reaction of mostly cold stares from everyone else in the room.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those wondering about the context of Frisk's nightmares, it will be more thoroughly explored in a later story, so don't worry about that.


End file.
